Jusoor Summer Program 2018: A World of Difference

George Abdallah, Lebanese-American

For the past few days, I’ve been noticing one student in particular. At the start of each day, her head is tucked down low. She sits at the same desk, in the far back of the classroom, to avoid having to make eye contact with me or her fellow students. No matter how I try to draw her out of her shell, she inevitably progresses to slumping further into her seat, hiding her head completely, and even, on occasion, hiding underneath her desk.

However, I have noticed that when the class comes together in the middle of the day for art projects, a smile finally begins to dawn on her face. Like clockwork, she becomes more energetic, full devotes herself to the activities at hand, and will always assist me with any task that she sees me doing. She reaches out to me and high-fives me and opens up in a way that warms everyone’s hearts.

This is why I’ve decided to switch upd our set course schedule. We are supposed to run science activities in the morning and art activities later on in the afternoon, however, I’ve come to the conclusion that for this student, starting the day with art activities would make a world of difference.

George has volunteered at Jusoor’s educational centers in Lebanon during July and August 2018 as part of the summer volunteer program. You can read more posts by our volunteers here.